Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Infinite XX Hell
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Those who had geared up entered the training gate prepared in the basement one by one.
In the middle of a fairly spacious meadow, Sia stood all alone.
Sia waved her hand in greeting to each person as they arrived.
Even after everyone had entered, she quietly checked her smartphone, waiting until the promised 30 minutes were up.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
As the time approached, some people's breathing grew ragged.
Some focused on chatting with the person next to them to ease their tension, while others silently checked their weapons.
From the moment they crossed through the gate until now, they had been glaring at Sia nonstop.
Arrogant bitch.
That's what they thought as they looked at the woman standing before them.
And instinctively, they knew they weren't the only ones feeling that way.
Amusingly enough, it was thanks to Sia from the audiovisual room.
Those who had locked eyes with her for a long time recognized each other's faces.
"......"
They subtly stepped back and exchanged glances.
Since they had gathered from all over the country, most only knew each other by face, but everyone had heard the rumors.
They glanced at each other alternately before turning their eyes back to Sia.
No matter how strong she is, we're several against one.
That Sia was strong was an undeniable fact.
They weren't like reckless idiots who charged in blindly without gauging their opponent's strength.
Though their careers were short, they were rising stars who had made names for themselves based on exceptional talent.
Just by looking at her standing there calmly, they could sense the gap between themselves and Sia.
But that's precisely why they were even angrier.
Her sudden emergence and being called a superhuman didn't bother them much.
They were surprised to learn she was around their age, but that was it.
On the contrary, they had sent her respectful looks filled with healthy envy, using it as fuel for their own drive to improve.
But today... after seeing that article, all they felt toward Sia was disgust.
What? Over ten women?
And she's bragging about it like it's something to be proud of?
She was promiscuous and shameless to the extreme.
In their minds, Sia was no different from a villain who toyed with women carelessly.
In truth, if judging purely by skill, there were surprisingly quite a few who surpassed the superhuman threshold.
But officially recognized superhumans were rare even on a global scale.
Strength alone wasn't the only criterion.
Having a lot of women? Sure, that can happen.
Of course, not all superhumans were flawless heroes, so minor flaws were common... but Sia had crossed the line.
For them, who trained to the point of blood and sweat in pursuit of official superhuman status, it felt like an insult.
Beating her might be impossible, but they at least wanted to wipe that smug smile off her face.
"Well then... shall we get started?"
"...Aren't you going to set an order?"
When one person raised their hand and asked, Sia nodded.
"Nope. Think of me as a humanoid raid boss and come at me all at once. Oh, and don't worry about getting hurt. I can heal you."
Even though she said that, everyone just eyed each other warily, and no one stepped forward first.
Her proposal had been too sudden, after all.
Jiyu and Iseo, exchanging glances, subtly prepared to move.
"No takers? Then I'll just start with—"
Those watching from behind must have seen it as their chance, because one cast a skill to bind Sia's movements while the rest charged at her.
"Hey, what the hell!"
"She said to come at her, so we did. What's the problem?"
"No... at least say something first..."
"Do raid teams ever announce to the boss that they're attacking before fighting?"
As the man who used the binding skill bickered with the earnest-looking guy, the others simultaneously attacked Sia.
"He's right, though."
Sia gave a small smile at those who had stepped up just as she intended.
For proper training, she needed people who would press the attack aggressively like this.
Jiyu and Iseo could have filled that role... but the more, the better.
However...
...Why does it feel kinda vicious?
It was for reasons Sia herself was blissfully unaware of—self-inflicted consequences.
Thinking she had only lightly prodded their egos with some casual provocation, Sia tilted her head.
A man holding a massive tower shield charged at her with speed belying his bulk.
Shield Charge.
The enormous shield closed the distance in an instant, blocking her view.
In that gap, the others hid and waited for an opening.
Sia tore free from the fairly sturdy mana bindings with brute force and kicked away the oncoming shield.
-Thud!
"Kuh...!"
Even though he was the one charging, it felt like getting hit by a truck.
Thanks to his skill, he didn't get pushed back, but just that one hit drained his stamina sharply.
As the man blocked Sia's front with his shield, a man and woman with weapons appeared from behind him.
Using the man thoroughly as a shield, they thrust their spear and sword into Sia's blind spot.
Sia dodged the straight-coming spear by pressing even closer to the shield instead.
The flexible sword pursued Sia once more.
Sia parried it upward with considerable force.
-Clang!
His hand, then his entire arm, went numb, but the man didn't let go of his sword to the end.
However, the power gap made his body lose balance and waver.
As Sia moved to finish him, the shield and spear pressured her again.
Dodge, push back, deflect—then as she evaded the next attack, mana bindings wrapped around her once more.
-Whish!
And at the same moment, an arrow flew with chilling precision toward Sia's head.
With a light flick of her wrist, Sia deflected the arrow with her sword, broke free of the bindings again, and faced the three charging at her.
"Gahk!"
"Kyaa...!"
"Kugh...!"
Each one went flying with a precise strike.
Sia caught the next incoming arrow and healed them as she spoke.
"Good. Again."
"......"
They got back into position and charged once more.
As time passed, the initially awkward coordination of the five grew more refined.
They couldn't land clean hits, but their attacks grazed her.
Even so, Sia's expression remained relaxed.
The five gritted their teeth, focusing intently on her movements.
Sword, sword, arrow, bind, spear, shield, arrow, flail, sword, spear again—all attacks blocked.
It seemed like they would connect any second, but they never did.
The skill gap hurt to the bone, but no one gave up.
Spear again, arrow, shield, bind, arrow, spear, sword—and then dragon claws and a gleaming blade.
Jiyu and Iseo suddenly joined the five's coordination.
The shield man and Jiyu pressured Sia from the front.
From Sia's blind spot, Iseo's sword flashed sharply.
The five felt a sense of relief at the breathing room but simultaneously scowled.
It stung their pride.
Even with five people in an improvised team-up, they hadn't even landed a proper hit.
But separately, the addition of two more created some leeway in their movements.
Regaining that margin let their minds cool a bit.
With two more added, the coordination quality rose, and grazes became more frequent.
"Everyone, spread out more. Clumping up against one person just blocks your own attack paths. See? The archer can't even shoot now for fear of hitting allies."
"Can binds only target bodies? Try it on weapons if possible, or bind hands and weapons together. It's too predictable right now."
"Blocking my view with the shield is good, but you can't pull back properly, so it limits the damage dealers' range. Frontline doesn't have to just stick to the enemy."
"Jiyu, use your tail in attacks more. Just swinging claws is too predictable. And the tail's getting in the way since it's so big."
As the coordination stabilized, Sia began offering advice bit by bit.
It felt strange.
At first, they thought this sparring was to put them in their place.
Showing the power gap to discourage any funny ideas... the classic method.
Having viewed Sia negatively from the start, they interpreted her light provocation that way too.
But contrary to their assumptions, it turned into real training.
Precise advice, convincing critiques, and an intentional gap just narrow enough for them to chase.
Every time their stamina chunked away, the pain brought more sense of achievement than suffering.
Sword and sword, spear, shield and arrow, claws, bind... As the seven-person chain continued, others began joining in one by one.
"Enter one at a time slowly! Piling in all at once breaks the chain!"
Those surrounding Sia gradually spread their distance.
New members slotted in during the gaps.
Surrounded by over twenty people, density was much lower, but it felt far more threatening than at the start.
The increased numbers made intricate coordination harder, but every time, Sia's spot-on instructions pushed them harder against her.
"Hup—!"
-Crack!
When Jiyu, the most skilled and central attacker, finally landed a clean hit on Sia, she felt ecstasy and pride.
Even the initially hostile five had melted into the mood before they knew it, sharing the joy.
It stemmed from a misunderstanding of Sia's personality to begin with.
Realizing she wasn't what they thought meant no need to stay mad.
...Though the fact that she had over ten women and was promiscuous and brazen remained unchanged.
The sparring continued for nearly an hour.
They now felt each other's abilities—known only in theory—viscerally through their bodies.
As coordination quality rose, not just Jiyu but others succeeded in attacks more often.
But...
Why... why won't it end...?
When the hell do we get a break...?
I'm gonna die...
Stamina... is fine, actually.
Whenever someone got hurt or short of breath, Sia healed them immediately.
Regardless of their wishes.
Some exhausted people tried stepping back or moving passively.
"Who said you could rest?!"
Every time, Sia would blaze with fury and force them back into the fight.
The battle showed no sign of ending.
It felt literally infinite.
"T-Teacher! M-My weapon broke!"
"Mine too!"
"Then go swap it! Anyone whose weapon breaks, swap now! Run, don't walk! No slacking! The longer you're gone, the harder it is for the others!"
"Ah... I hate this so much..."
Iseo squeezed her eyes shut and hurried off to swap weapons.
A few others followed her.
Sia's training method was brutally simple.
Just fight endlessly.
Literally infinitely.
When tired, get healed and fight more.
Light healing was something Sia could do nonstop for hours, making this vicious training possible only for her.
And it was just as devilishly effective.
An infinitely continuing grind that pushed people to their limits until Sia was satisfied, drawing out their utmost potential.
This is literally Infinite Climax Hell...!
Iseo secretly dubbed the training that in her mind.
It was torturously painful to the point of death, but the tangible growth and resulting dopamine rush were no joke.
Especially now.
The ecstasy of succeeding in attacks with twenty-three people who barely knew each other feeling united was downright addictive.
I'm seriously gonna die...
So when does it end...?
...Why did I pick shield and get hit the most?
Still... the suffering was suffering.